Airth or Earth
by Network Mickey
Summary: This my first ever fanfiction that i have let anyone else see. SPOILER WARNING - Set between Planet of the Dead and Waters of Mars - recent events only mentioned, slight spoiler for season 4. Entirely new companion. Hope you like, please review!
1. Indigestion?

Chapter 1 – Indigestion?

The Tardis groaned as the Doctor ran around the console doing his usual performance. As he sprang around on the balls of his feet, he could tell by the sound that the time rotor was making that something wasn't right. He clambered upon the console and put his stethoscope against the rotor. He muttered, seemingly to himself, "What's wrong with you, hey?" He jumped down from the console and bounced to the monitor. He continued muttering, "well the sensors say that the crystals are out of sync with each other, but the noise suggests you've got indigestion." He looked up to the rotor and began to walk around the base of it. "Have the engines picked up something that doesn't agree with you?" With this question, the Tardis creaked in response, "Aha!" cried the Doctor. With this he bounced back to the monitor and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver. He put it to the base of the rotor and activated it. The Tardis began to groan louder, as if it were crying out with pain. The Doctor immediately stopped and looked at the monitor, "I think we'd better pull over and give you a thorough check up.

It was night as Lyla Peters was walking home through snow. At the back of her mind she thought that she could hear a strange noise, a sort of tired groaning with a little wheezing thrown in. As she walked she felt flakes of snow float into her face, as if disturbed by a large gust of wind, but as she looked around, the rest of the snow looked as if it couldn't decide on where to go, as if the wind was coming from many directions. She shrugged this idea off...until she realised that she was in an alleyway, the wind could only come from two directions, in front of her and from behind. She looked at a newspaper as it floated past...it was definitely being blown in several directions. Lyla span on the spot. She could see something fading into existence right in front of her eyes. A blue light was pulsing...THERE, she could hear that sound again, the light was pulsing in time with the sound. More quickly now, the object was fading into a solid mass. This was impossible, surely she must be hallucinating! There was a thud as the object became a solid mass for the final time. She stood looking at the object for a few moments, taking it all in, its blue exterior, the words near the top of it, 'Police Public Call Box'. She took a few steps forward and placed her hand against it. It felt like wood. She pulled her hand back towards her and stepped back. When she reached her original position, the door creaked open and a man with brown hair, wearing a blue suit and a brown overcoat. He didn't seem to notice her as he walked around the outside of the blue box. He put his hand up to it and touched it, just like she had done mere moments before. He appeared to stroke it and then did the most unexpected thing. He put a hand into a pocket and pulled out a stethoscope. He put it on and placed it against the blue wood. He then removed it from his ears and put his right ear against it. It was now that he realised he wasn't alone.

"Oh...erm...hello, I'm the Doctor, how long have you been standing there?" asked the Doctor, worried that he hadn't checked beforehand. He stepped forward and she took a step back. "It's alright, am not going to hurt you..."

"That's what they all say before...well...I don't need to tell you do I!?"

"Before what exactly?"

"Is this a test?"

"Am sorry?" The Doctor was worried now, what did she mean by a test? "Am sorry, I'm not from around these parts, what do you mean a test?" Lyla was hesitant to respond, she wasn't expecting this response, but thinking back to the stories that she had been told...she should be dead by now. The Doctor attempted to continue the communication, "I'm the Doctor, who are you?"

"My name is Lyla, Lyla Peters. I'm a shop assistant."

"Tell me LylaLyla Peters"

"No, just one Lyla"

"Sorry, then tell me Lyla Peters..." Lyla braced herself for the next comment, the Doctor continued, "...what planet are we on?" Out of all the questions that she thought was coming, that was the lowest on the list. She had even expected him to ask if she was human before asking what planet they were on! "Am sorry, what planet?"

"Yes, what planet? I know we're on a planet occupied by humans in the Scorpion nebula, not too far away from San Helios, in fact supposed to be there right now to nudge on wormholes. But the Tardis got a little exhausted or something, I don't know, so I came here. Nearest, safest planet...which would be..." the Doctor looked at Lyla, prompting her to give him the name of the planet. Being hesitant, Lyla fumbled for her transmitter, but something in the Doctor's eyes made her trust him. "Airth, the planet we're on is Airth." The Doctor looked shocked at how similar sounding it was to Earth, he was so shocked that he thought he might have misheard her, it wouldn't be the first time. He decided to clarify, "sorry, did you say Earth?"

"No, Airth"

"Sorry, just that it sounded like a planet that I recently visited."

"You speak of visiting other planets like it is an every day event to you"

"Well I go to other time periods as well..." this was the remark that really made Lyla start listening, the Doctor continued, "...not that long ago I went to see the assassination of Abraham Lincoln!" Lyla was confused, "Am sorry Doctor, Abraham who?" The Doctor, realising what he'd just said, simply responded with "Never mind, another planet, another time. Anyway..." The Doctor closed the Tardis door, realising it was still open, and walked up to Lyla, he offered her his harm to hold in a gentlemanly manner. They began to walk in the snow, the Doctor finished his sentence, "...tell me about your planet!"

As the two walked through the snow, they neglected to notice the figure in the darkness. The figure that, as they rounded the corner, approached the Tardis...


	2. Thought of the Old with the New

Chapter 2 – The Thought of Old with the New

"Well..." began Lyla, "...we colonised the planet about four hundred years ago, after our original home-world was under threat. So we succeeded in developing a device that allowed us to jump between parallel worlds. We used it to find..." Lyla was cut short in mid-sentence by the Doctor, "I'm sorry Lyla, but did you say that your people developed a device to travel between parallel worlds?"

"Yes," replied Lyla. The Doctor stopped and turned to face his new companion. On his face was a look that was a mixture of three looks. Confusion, excitement, but mostly fear. Lyla became worried, "Is that a problem Doctor?" The Doctor wasn't sure what to say. "Well Lyla Peters. Jumping between parallel worlds is supposed to be impossible!"

"Well Doctor, we managed it."

"Yes, well, I see that!" The Doctor paused here, deciding that it would seem more dramatic to do so and thus more fun for him, "Lyla, I'm going to ask you to do something that I rarely ask, but love doing so when I do..." the Doctor paused again, reading Lyla's reaction as she prepared herself. The Doctor continued, "...Lyla Peters, will you take me to your leaders?"

Lyla laughed in his face at the request. The Doctor was confused, what was so funny at the request? He began to wonder if he had something on his face and became so paranoid about it that actually wiped the area between his nose and his upper lip, just in case he had something that shouldn't have been in view hanging there. In the end though, he decided to simply ask, "Sorry, but what's so funny?"

"Well," began Lyla, "I just wasn't expecting that to be asked."

"Why?"

"Two reasons, one, it's so like fiction that it wasn't high up on my list, and two..." Lyla paused here as she decided on the best way to word the next things to come out of her mouth, "I was expecting something along the lines of you requesting if we could...you know...share a bed?" The Doctor was concerned at this remark. He began to wonder if he gave off that impression or something. "Quick question," began the Doctor, "why did you think that as the second thing? In fact, why did you think of that at all?" The Doctor finished his question, but decided to add on, "No offence being meant to you of course!"

"Well, Doctor, you're an attractive guy, I'm an attractive girl...things could lead somewhere if the right...'spark' shall we say?" Lyla continued without waiting a response from the Doctor, who was now standing dumbstruck anyway, "If the right spark hit the two of us simultaneously!" The Doctor was taken aback. He'd never really considered himself attractive. Sure he knew that some of his previous companions had feelings for him, even a future one! On a subconscious level, the Doctor began listing the three that immediately came to mind, River, Martha, Rose...

It seemed that the Doctor had gone into a daze and had started staring into the distance the moment her thought of the last name. The companion that crossed the void from a parallel world...TWICE to reach him. It took several attempts, but Lyla, eventually, managed to regain his concentration. "Sorry, must've slipped off there..." the Doctor was apologetic, but Lyla sensed that he was sincere in the apology and so accepted it. "That's alright Doctor, must've been something important to make you drift off like that!"

"Hmm, she was!" The Doctor suddenly realised that it had dropped about five degrees whilst they were standing there, "Tell you what Lyla, get me to your leaders, and I promise you a trip of a life time! How does that sound?" The Doctor's trademark grin spread across his face, which was immediately imitated by Lyla, "That sounds more like it Doctor!"

"Rightio then, Alons-y!" and with that, the pair of them began to wander through the snow into the night.

It wasn't until they reached the end of the road, which was about three miles away from their starting point, that the Doctor suddenly realised he had left his overcoat behind inside the Tardis. "Nah, it's too dark to walk back to get it now, would add at least another ninety minutes onto the journey. How far away are we then?" he asked Lyla in the form of a tag question. "Oh, only about another ten minutes and then we'll be at my home."

"I'm sorry, your home? I thought you were taking me to your leader." The Doctor couldn't help but smile at this remark. Lyla decided to reassure him, "Well, my home is on the way anyway Doctor, but it is getting on now, so there won't be anyone there for you to see anyway, so you may as well stay at my home until the first sun rises, the second sun doesn't rise for about three time cycles after that." The Doctor acknowledged that this would have to be the case as he could sense the temperature around him lowering all the time, and that was with him moving and so it would become too dangerous to travel back to the Tardis.

After another ten minutes of walking, which was mostly silent on the Doctor's part, but far from silent on Lyla's part as she filled him in on the history of her civilisation, the duo arrived at Lyla's home. In the light, the Doctor was sure it would look warm and inviting, but now, as the suns had been down and the snow had moved in, it looked cold and very uninviting. The windows were dark and here was no smoke coming from the chimney. The Doctor was shocked to find a row of cottages this close to the centre of a major city. But he decided not to ask in case he offended her. As the two walked up the path, Lyla leading the way, the Doctor suddenly felt the distinct impression of unease. In fact, he'd felt a pang of it the moment he turned the corner of the alleyway that the Tardis was now standing alone in the dark. Here was the Doctor, going into a house, which was surprisingly warm despite its exterior, and he couldn't help but feel like he had left a friend alone. But the Doctor's friend was not alone. The friend that was currently standing in an alleyway in the dark was not as alone as the Doctor thought, but was with a creature that wanted to know what lay beneath its exterior...


	3. A Creature of Time

Chapter Three – A Creature of Time

As the Doctor sat down on the sofa in Lyla's living room, he noticed that she didn't have any form of entertainment in there, no books, no magazines, no newspapers open at the puzzles section, and no form of television. Lyla walked through the living room and into the kitchen. "So," called the Doctor, "do you live here by yourself, or is there a boyfriend, fiancé, or, dare I say it, a husband?" Lyla leaned through the kitchen doorway and looked at the Doctor, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just wanted to know if I should take my shoes off or keep them on just in case I have to do scarper quickly to get away from an angry partner who may get the wrong idea about something!"

"Oh, well, no there isn't anyone else. Just me..." Lyla paused here; she had never thought of how lonely she was until she said those last two words. She decided to clear her mind of the thought as this wasn't the time, "Would you like a drink?" The Doctor barely heard her ask the question as he had stood up and was examining the room closely. Lyla asked again, "Doctor, would you like a drink?" He heard her this time, "Oh, yes please, thank you very much! What's on offer?" Lyla smirked to herself and invited him to come and pick something himself.

As he approached the kitchen, something caught the Doctor's attention out of the corner of his eye. A movement, as if something was trying to remain hidden. He decided not to panic Lyla and thought it must have been his imagine playing tricks on him; after all, he was getting on a bit. As he continued through into the kitchen, he noticed a bowl on the floor that had food in it. "Cat or dog?" asked the Doctor. At first Lyla was slightly confused at the question, she thought to herself about what either a cat or a dog where. "I'm sorry?" asked Lyla, "Oh, on this planet I've visited numerous times, they have these animals called cats and dogs, am more of a canines myself," suddenly realising that Lyla may not know what a canine was, he added to it saying, "that's the technical term or something for dogs on Earth. I don't know why they have two names for everything, regular names and then the scientific names. Baffles me, but that's humans for you. Both bonkers and brilliant at the same time!" Lyla looked at him blankly, not believing a word that he was saying, "So what pet do you have then?"

"Oh," said Lyla, "it's a species you've probably never even heard of. Not a lot of people have to be honest. It's not native to this planet you see, it's from a planet in the constellation of Kasterborous." It was this last word that really caught the Doctor's attention. Here was a woman who had an animal as a pet that was the same area of space as he was. He began to wonder whether or not he would actually know the species that she had as a pet. Would he be able to tell which planet it was from just by looking at it? How far away from it had he himself grown up? "Do you know the name of the planet that it is native to by any chance?"

"Afraid not," said Lyla, "all I know is the name of the species and where in space they are from."

"Well that's not bad; I'll probably be able to tell you where it is from if you tell me the name of it." Boasted the Doctor, knowing full well that he didn't really have a hope in hells chance unless it happened to come from the same star system as him also. "So what is the name?"

"Sheppey" exclaimed Lyla. The Doctor was confused, he hadn't even heard of a Sheppey, let alone knew what it looked like or where it was native to. Then it suddenly realised what she was talking about, "I meant the name of the species."

"Oh, it's a..." Lyla was interrupted here as they both heard glass smashing from the living room. The two went to investigate, the Doctor retrieving his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket as they went.

Meanwhile, when this was all taking place, something sinister was being planted in a dark, snowy alleyway a few miles away. The creature was stroking the Tardis all over, looking for just a clue to what really lay beneath the blue wood that was a blatant disguise. But the blue box simply refused to give away any of its secrets. The creature knew it was not of this planet. It had watched the pretty girl walk through the beginnings of a snow fall in the dark, all alone, when suddenly the wind began to pick up around her. The creature watched as the blue box had appeared. The light on top, pulsing in time with that sound. The sound that would be remembered for a life time. The sound of an ancient device that was coming to rest after travelling so far. It now stood here, its occupant had left with the pretty girl and now it stood here...alone.

Eventually, the creature's hands found their way to the lock on the doors. It attempted to break it, but this ultimately ended in failure on the creature's behalf. The door was sealed and the blue box stood strong. The creature dipped its and into a pocket of the jacket it was wearing and pulled out a small device. The creature lifted it above its head and the device began to hum. Softly at first, it soon began to gradually intensify, until reached such a volume that it began to hover on its own. The creature let go and the device floated ghostly to the doors of the Tardis. It paused for a moment, before proceeding through them as if they didn't exist. As soon as this was done, the creature adjusted his jacket and headed off, following Lyla and the Doctor. It nearly caught up with once or twice, but stayed to the shadows and used their footprints in the ever deepening snow. Eventually, it watched as the two went inside a cottage that was on the outskirts of the city. The creature crept to one of the windows and picked a spot. Suddenly, it saw the Doctor walk towards a doorway and realised that it would be seen if it didn't move right then. As it moved, it saw the Doctor's eyes dart to its position, but then they moved back to their original position and he went into another room. The creature gently tapped the glass, without making much noise, and decided that the glass around there was too strong. So it moved around to the back of the cottage and found a weaker pane of glass. It dived through it and went straight for the darkest parts of the room. The Doctor and Lyla came into the room and he started scanning the glass...

With being busy with scanning the glass, he didn't notice the creature come out of the darkness...but Lyla did. She screamed and the Doctor turned around. After a few moments she started settling down. Enough to make a coherent sentence, "Doctor...Doctor, what is that thing?" The Doctor looked amazed, he knew what it was, but he was still amazed at it, Lyla asked again, "Doctor, what is it?"

"It's a Tar-Modowk; it lives inside the Time Vortex, a creature literally of time!"

"The what vortex?"

"I'll explain later, but I haven't seen a Tar-Modowk for a while, last time I saw one I was a different man!"

"What are you on about?"

"Never mind, look, just get behind me will you? It's not safe"

"Doctor, it's in my home!"

"I know but..." the Doctor was cut short. As Lyla stepped behind him, the creature lunged at the Doctor and in one fluid movement, knocked the Doctor down to the ground, grabbed Lyla with its free hand, and jumped out the window with her. In little under a minute, the Doctor was unconscious. By the time he awoke three hours later, both Lyla and the Tar-Modowk were gone...


	4. Future's Warning

Chapter 4 – Future's Warning

As the Doctor stirred, he could feel an extremely uncomfortable feeling on the side of his head. As he lifted his hand to his head, he felt his shoulders scream with agony. He decided to move more slowly so as to limit the pain. The Doctor began muttering to himself, "Ouch...ouch, ouch, ouch...I'm getting too old for this!" As he lifted himself into a seated position, he looked around the room. The entire thing was blurry to the Doctor. As he began to be able to make out individual features of the room, the Doctor realised that he was in Lyla's living room. He half rolled over and put his hand to the floor. As he put his weight onto the hand, he felt a stray shard of glass pierce his skin, "Ouch!" The Doctor glanced down at his hand and watched the area around the cut caused by the glass turn red. Slowly, a stream of blood trickled out of the cut and ran toward his wrist. The Doctor removed his tie and used it as a makeshift bandage. He finally managed to get up after he had managed to focus on everything in the entire room.

As he stood up, a twinge in his hand made him look down at it. A growing red stain on his makeshift bandage told him that his wound was still bleeding quite severely. The Doctor turned around and looked around the room, taking everything in. The cream carpet, which was slowly turning red in several spots where his blood was dripping, the brown sofa and the cream walls. He continued his turn. Looking at the lamps in the corners of the room, the fireplace with pictures of Lyla and her pet, the man with the gun standing at the window looking in at the Doctor. "Ah..." the Doctor said as he put his hands up, "...now you may not believe me, but my name's the Doctor..."

"Shut up and walk towards me!"

"Ok, ok, no need to get trigger happy,"

"Now!" demanded the man. The Doctor took a few steps forward and put his hands down to make it easier to climb out of the window. The man continued to point the gun at the Doctor as he climbed out of the building via the window. "Now...who are you, what are you doing here and where is Profess Peters?"

"I'm, the Doctor, I was invited here by Lyla Peters, am guessing she is Profess Peters, she was taken by a Tar-Modowk grabbed her last night. It knocked me unconscious and I woke up mere minutes ago."

"What's a Tar-Modowk?"

"A creature that lives inside the time vortex."

"The what vortex? Your made up names isn't going to stop me from shooting you! What sort of name is 'Doctor' anyway?"

"Look, it is really important that you listen to me..." It turned out at this point that the man's gun was actually a gun that shot an electrical pulse with a function similar to a taser. The Doctor screamed in agony and fell to his knees. He put a hand to his own chest and felt for the two of his hearts for a moment. Only one was beating. The Doctor took a short intake of breath as he realised that he only had one heart. He also had a look of horror on his face, "I'll shoot you again if you don't shut up!" The man was looking quite angry now. The Doctor though the logic through for a moment, but decided not talking and being taken somewhere was a much better option than talking and being shot, which would put his second heart at risk as it was now the only one beating. "Come with me!" Said the man with a voice of authority but with a note that made it evident that he had only just been given his new, more senior job. Both the Doctor and the man started to walk off down the road, the Doctor with his hands up and the man with the gun pointing to the base of the Doctor's back. After two minutes, the Doctor decided to attempt a conversation, "So, what's your name?"

"Why do you need to know that?"

"Oh I don't, I just thought it would make this a whole lot more comfortable."

"Well it's not supposed to be comfortable, am arresting you!"

"OK, but what is your name?" The Doctor had decided he was going to repeat the question as many times until he got a name. Unbeknown to the Doctor, the man with the gun had began to lower the weapon that he held in his hands. Upon realising that he was lowering it, it snapped right back to its original position, pointing at the Doctor, just inches from his back. "My name's Simon Lonsdale." The Doctor was at least getting somewhere, with the name; he could begin asking some deeper questions. The Doctor turned his head slightly, just so he could see over his shoulder with the corner of his eye, "So what made you become what you are?"

"That's none of your concern. All that you need to be concerned with is your imminent death!"

"Oh...well that doesn't sound all that enticing, I can tell you that! How about if I just let me go to my Tardis, my ship, and I'll get out of your hair? I think that's a much better plan...for both of us!"

"I can't I've radioed you in now, I have to take you with me, otherwise..."

"Otherwise...what?"

"Otherwise...they'll kill me!"

"Who will kill you? Tell me, I can protect you, I can take you so far away from here!" Simon's gun began to shake. The Doctor became immediately concerned at the silence. No footsteps following him. He turned around. Simon was standing still. The gun was still in his hand, but something was wrong. His hand was shaking. Worse than that, his whole body was shaking! The Doctor ran towards him, pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver as he went. "Simon, Simon, are you ok? Answer me boy...boy? Since when have I ever called someone boy, I've never called someone that...well...not for a few hundred years anyway!" realising that he was rambling, the Doctor put his attention back to Simon. As he watched, Simon's started to shake violently, his nose began to bleed, his ears followed suit. Blood trickled out of the tear ducts in his eyes. Within seconds of the blood appearing, it was streaming down his body. Seconds after this...he was dead!

The Doctor guided the body down to the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" the Doctor said in his mournful manner. He closed Simon's eyes with his fingertips and performed a quick scan with the screwdriver. He passed it over the dead body. Completing this, the Doctor began to run towards the Tardis. With all the running that he usually does, he managed to cover the distance in a short period of time. But having a binary vascular system also helps get the blood pumping faster too!

As the Doctor rounded the corner of the alleyway, he nearly ran into a homeless person, but they had moved to the side at the last moment. "Oh, sorry about that," the Doctor said, "would love to stay and chat, but I can't stop at the moment. Another time perhaps!" the Doctor called back as he ran towards the Tardis. "Don't open the door Doctor!" the homeless person called to him, but the Doctor ignored him. Instead, he lunged for the handle, putting the key into the lock; he turned and heard the satisfactory click. He swung the door open, saw the device that the Tar-Modowk had planted there the night before. The was a brief moment between the Doctor opening the door and the next event. The explosion rang out to the alleyway as the device exploded. The Doctor was thrown to the ground outside the Tardis. A fireball erupted from the Tardis and cleared the exit of alleyway. The Doctor didn't move as he lay on the floor.


	5. Regeneration

Sorry it took so long, have had writer's block, but I have managed to knock out something to try and keep the story flowing. It is only short, but I should have the next chapter by Sunday, but I wanted to publish something today especially! I hope you like it for what it is.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Regeneration

His ears were ringing as he lay on the ground, dust from the explosion scattering around him. The Doctor suddenly realised his position and leaped up. He paused for a moment as his head was now hurting after his bound. He leaned forward and put his hands to his knees to steady himself. He then realised that he had been warned by the homeless person. He span around on the ball of his foot to see where he had gone, if he was alright, but he had disappeared. The Doctor ran to the end of the alleyway and looked in all directions, but the man was gone, not even leaving traces of him in the snow.

The Doctor looked back into the alley and focused on the Tardis. As he took a few steps forward, he noticed that had not dumped his brown overcoat in the Tardis, but it had, in fact, slipped from his person as he was rushing around the Tardis the previous night. He stooped down as he walked past and shook the snow from it. He draped it over his arm and continued walking towards the blue box standing at the end of the alley. He stepped inside. The smell of burning machinery was the first thing to hit his nostrils, followed by a smell of burning coral. The Doctor was hit by a massive surge of emotion as he felt the pain that the Tardis was now suffering. As the Doctor walked up the ramp, dumping his brown overcoat on to the usual spot, the feeling of pain got stronger. The closer he got to the console, the more he felt angered at himself for his neglect of his constant companion. He touched the console and the great craft groaned. "I'm sorry for neglecting you...let's see what we can do to fix you up, hey?" The Doctor spoke softly to his magnificent machine, before beginning to fix it. He flicked switches and pulled levers. He ran around the console with haste that was usually associated with when he attempts to make a landing in a tight space. When he finished his performance, he took a step back and looked at the time rotor expectantly. Nothing. The Doctor bounded over to the far side of the console. He examined the controls closely, noticing what was wrong almost instantly. He placed a hand on a small wheel, and turned it clockwise until it clicked three times. "Three is the magic number!" muttered the Time Lord. Again, he looked up at the rotor, still nothing. He glanced down, through the metal grill that was the platform and noticed something. A small light glowing in the semi-darkness. A small green light, just sitting there, glowing. He crouched and peered through the small holes, it was definitely a green light. He lifted up the grate and reached it to pull it out.

As he removed it from the slot that it was housed in, it pulsed, the glow became stronger. He lifted it to his lips, and with a soft blow from his mouth, the glow became an intense light, going through a whole spectrum of colours. It then began to pulse, and every time the light became stronger and stronger after each cycle. The Doctor grinned. He kicked the hatch closed and walked back over to where he had first noticed it. He placed the glowing light, which the Doctor now realised was a piece of crystal, about the size of a small fist, near to the console. It was then that part of the console opened, revealing a small slot, the exact size of the crystal in the Doctor's hand. He walked over to the open section and slotted the crystal in. Instantly, the rotor was glowing with light, the entire room was bathed in a bright glow emitting from the rotor. The light did its familiar cycle of colours until it rested on a brilliant burnt orange colour. It lingered on this for about three seconds longer than the others before it returned to its usual colour. One by one, the lights inside the console room began to turn on, each one signalling their activation with a thud. After the last one lit, the console began to glow a bright green. This then began to pulse. "There you go old girl, a few hours of regenerating the damaged areas and you should be as good as new...well...as good as you were!" The Tardis groaned in response to the Doctor's remark, "oh, ok then," continued the Doctor, "as good as new!" The Tardis groaned again, but this time it was more approving. The Doctor grinned and headed towards the door, "I'll be back in a few hours, won't be too long, it'll give you a chance to heal!" The Doctor grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

He closed the door softly and locked it. Looking down the alley, he could hear a faint noise, it sounds like the engines of a Tardis, but it couldn't be! He decided that it must be part of the Tardis regenerative cycle, after all, he had never had to put it into a cycle as deep as this before. Maybe it was just testing the engines at a low power to make sure they hadn't been damaged. The Doctor walked down the alley, the low grinding of a tired noise fading in the background. As the Doctor turned the corner towards Lyla's home, he felt a breeze pick up, which then turned into a gust. The Doctor realised what it meant, he ran back to the alley, expecting the Tardis to be dematerialising...but there it was, standing bold and solid. But that wind and the noise...the Doctor realised what it truly was. His hearts sank as he had missed an opportunity. A missed opportunity that would become a mission of his. A mission that he could not fail!

* * *

I know it isn't much, but it is something, again, should have Chapter 6 up by Sunday (hopefully before then).


	6. Childhood's Companion

Sorry this took sooo long to get up, have been monumentally busy and various things got in the way of my writing, anyway, here it is! hopefully it won't be as long a wait for Chapter 7!Chapter 6 – Childhood's Companion

* * *

The Doctor looked back at his Tardis, standing at the end of other end of the alley. There was no way that it was in a state to do what both of his hearts wanted to do right at this second, but his mind said otherwise. The Tardis was not able to give pursuit of that sound, he would have to leave it to regenerate. Besides, he already had a job to do here, get back Lyla Peters.

As the Doctor ran down the road towards Lyla's home, a million thoughts ran through his mind. All of them related to that familiar sound. The wind blew into his face and through his hair, the Doctor felt invigorated. His coat flew out behind him, billowing like a cape. The mighty strides he took got him one step closer to Lyla's home. Both of his hearts beat in rhythm, keeping his blood flowing, carrying oxygen where it was needed. He followed his footsteps from earlier and arrived at his destination. The building that Lyla called "home". He slowed to a brisk walk until he reached her gate, when he slowed even further to a slow walk. As he walked up the path, he removed the Sonic Screwdriver from the pocket on the inside of his jacket. Looking all around him, he placed the screwdriver to the lock. The end lit up and a whistling sound emanated from the device. He held it in position for a few moments, and took it away when he heard the door unlock. As the Doctor stowed the screwdriver into the pocket he removed it from, he opened the door and stepped inside.

The entrance hall was exactly how he had seen it as when he entered the night before. He stepped into Lyla's living room and saw the smashed glass still all over the floor. As he looked around the room, his eyes were drawn towards a photograph that he had not noticed the night before as it was partially hidden behind the arm of the chair that he had been sitting on. As he picked it up, he recognised Lyla, but when he looked at the male standing with his arm around her, the Doctor felt a twinge at the back of his mind, as if he recognised him. Surely he hadn't done it again. One of his previous companions he had met, and then met her grandfather on a separate adventure. Then he finally met the two of them together. The Doctor shook the memory of Donna and Wilf from his mind and took it back to where he knew this man from. In the back of his mind, the Doctor was convinced he recognised the man, but couldn't think for all of his lives who he was! He therefore decided to remove the picture from the frame and take it with him. If he found Lyla...no...WHEN he found Lyla, then he would ask her who he was. Sliding the picture into a pocket, the Doctor scanned the room and decided to check the kitchen. As he took the first tentative steps into the room, his eyes were drawn to the food bowl on the floor. As he stooped down to examine the bowl, he heard the sound of something, like a cat flap. The Doctor stood up straight and looked around. As the Doctor stood staring at the kitchen door, he saw the owner of the bowl come in. It was small, grey and had six legs. It was similar to a Koala bear, but the nose was smaller. The Doctor recognised it instantly. It was a Flubble. The Doctor watched it as it walked around him and went straight for the food bowl. The Doctor pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and began to scan the little animal. He was shocked at the results that the scan produced, "What? No, no, no, no, NO!" He glanced between the screwdriver and the Flubble. The Time Lord stooped down again and picked the animal up. The Doctor felt a connection that he had not felt since his Academy days. The creature seemed to feel the same way as it acted like it knew the Doctor.

The Doctor thought back to his Academy days, all of those years that he spent there, near Mount Cadon. All of his friends, members of The Deca. Mortimus, Drax, Jelpax, Magnus, Millenia, Rallon, Ushas, Vansell, even The Master, who went by the name of Koschei back then. It was then that most of these Time Lords would become renegades, like himself. Then he thought of the glorious world that Gallifrey was, the orange sky, the red grass, the snow capped mountains and the Citadel of the Time Lords. As he held the Flubble close, a small, single connection to his home planet, a small tear trailed down his cheek.

He snapped himself out of his trance and immediately leapt back into action. He placed the Flubble on the floor as he stood up. He walked back into Lyla's living room and went up the stairs. Finding the room he was looking for, he took a step into it. There was a flash of light. The Doctor screamed, as if in agony. A beam of light shot down his body. Moments later, The Doctor was gone! The Flubble that had followed him up the stairs just sat staring at the spot where the Time Lord had vanished into a small cloud of smoke. A large scorch mark on the floor was the only evidence that anyone had set foot there...


	7. Gallifrey!

Here it is, chapter 7, sorry it took so long getting put up, I've been away, but I already have the next chapter written and most of the one after that, they will be going up in a week! Hope you enjoy! Please comment and review!

* * *

CHAPTER 7: "Gallifrey!"

The Doctor hit the floor of a circular platform. A burning sensation behind his eyes and a bitter taste in his mouth. The Doctor blinked as he struggled to get to his feet, a light blinding him. Somewhere, an alarm was sounding, had he triggered it? The Doctor put his hand up in an attempt to stop the harsh light from blinding him. After blinking a few more times, and his eyes had adjusted to the lighting, he found that he was in a fairly large room. He pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket and aimed it towards the light. He activated it and there was a small bang, the light was no more. In the semi-darkness, the Doctor began to make out a few details; the room was wide and long, but not high. He was currently standing, unsteadily, on a platform of some kind. The platform itself had a soft, white glow. As his eyes further adjusted to the darkness, he realised that both the architecture and technology had an organic look about it. It was now that he noticed the smell. A nearly un-describable smell, a sort of Iron and dirt combined. He ran towards the console that stood before him and attempted to break the security code so that he could transport back to where he came from. After several seconds of pushing various buttons on the console, the Doctor heard a series of footsteps from the other side of, what the Doctor now assumed, was the door. He gave in attempting to take control of the console, so took up refuge behind the console. The door opened, and the Doctor realised who had taken Lyla. He should have realised the moment he realised the technology had an organic appearance.

The door slid open and in came several humanoid creatures. They had cone shaped heads, with suckers that ranged in size slightly running up and down their bodies. Zygons! The lead Zygon took a step away from the rest of the party, "We know you are in here, come out now and there is no need for you to be killed!" The Doctor thought for a moment and decided that it might be best for him to be taken prisoner now rather than later. He then decided that it might not be a good idea to let them know who they had taken prisoner. The Doctor slowly removed himself from his hideaway. His hands in the air, the Zygons' on their weapons!

As the Doctor stood before them, the Zygons approached him. One put its hand closer towards the Doctor, "We will find out who you are!" said one of the Zygons. "Oh, am sure you will!" The Doctor replied, after pausing for a few moments, he continued with, "eventually!" The Doctor grinned, the Zygons did not. "Your arrogance towards the Zygon race is insulting to our existence…you will tell us who you are or suffer the consequences!"

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, but I'll let you sing for your supper…if you don't mind!"

"Very well!" after this, the lead Zygon approached the Doctor. A hand, full of stings, stretching out to touch his skin. The Doctor knew that a Zygon's body contain thousands, even millions, of stings that can either be used to shock a person, to stun them, or even to kill! The hand inched closer to the Doctor's face, the Doctor began to become worried, he didn't know whether or not he would wake up after being touched. The stings made contact and the Doctor fell to the ground. The body of the Time Lord lay on the floor without any movement, until the lead Zygon turned to two of the other Zygons and commanded them to take the body away.

The Doctor regained conscious in a darkened room. The now familiar smell of iron filled the Time Lord's nostrils. As his senses became more aware of his surroundings, the Doctor noted that he was secured to a chair. A sticky mucus on his hands stopped him from moving them. Regardless, the Doctor attempted to anyway, but the mucus allowed very little movement. Taking this defeat, the Doctor began to look around the room, to spot any surveillance equipment. The lighting level began to rise, and out of the darkness, a figure appeared to emerge. The Doctor thought it reminded him of a human, or humanoid, sitting on a chair. The lighting level rose a little higher, but just enough for the Doctor to make out what the figure was. The bumps, a domed head, two lights…and an eye stalk. The Doctor began to scream with terror. "Let me out of here!" he begged of his captors, "You can keep me prisoner, call me your pet, just don't leave me in here with that THING!" The Doctor pleaded, his screams filled with terror. Both of his hearts thumping, sending his blood to various parts of his body. As the Doctor screamed again, a heavy crunching came from behind him, followed by footsteps of a Zygon. The Zygon came into the Doctor's field of vision; it was the same one that commanded the regiment of Zygons that had found him in the transportation room earlier. The Zygon was grinning. He walked away from the Doctor, approaching the Dalek. The Zygon stretched out his arm, his hand in a position to touch the Dalek. The Doctor realised what he was going to do, a simple touch could bring a Dalek back from the brink of death, he screamed for the Zygon not to touch it, "DON'T, I've seen what a Dalek can do, I've felt what it can do!" The Zygon's grin spread across more of his face. The hand made contact, instantly the Dalek rolled towards the Doctor. Screaming with terror, the Doctor wrestled with the mucus that held his hands tightly together. The Doctor closed his eyes so that he wouldn't see the Dalek's battle cry. But it never came. The Doctor opened one of his eyes; the Dalek had slowed and had begun to drift to one side. The Doctor opened his other eye. It was just the casing of a Dalek. The Zygon roared with laughter. "So, mystery man, you know of the Daleks, how?"

"I did battle with them," replied the Doctor, "my people and I were…" the Doctor paused, "…are, the enemies of the Daleks! I personally was at the creation of the species, and the death of nearly all of them."

"Interesting, so who are your people?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out!" The Zygon lifted his hand, "Do I need to tell you how much pain I can inflict on you mystery man?" The Doctor shook his head, "So tell me, mystery man, where is your planet?"

"Nowhere"

"What do you mean…nowhere?"

"It's gone, dead, killed in the Time War!"

"So you know of the Time War, where was your planet then?"

"The constellation of Kasterborous"

"What was the name of your planet?"

"Gallifrey!" The Zygon's smile faded; in its place was a look of both fear and excitement. He disappeared out of the Doctor's field of vision and left the room. The Doctor sighed. It was only a matter of time now, before he would be forced to reveal which one of his mighty race he was, and then…it could be too late!


	8. An Update

After a few years, during which I have graduated from university, I find myself drifting back to this story. After re-reading this, I have noticed a few discrepancies in the story, so will be re-doing the entire story. Taking in my new writing abilities to update the language and the level of skill in the storytelling.

This story will be removed in due course, once I have re-written three of the chapters in preparation of uploading the first chapter for you to read. This could be as early as New Year's Day (don't hold your breath though!)

I did consider updating the Doctor to number eleven, but I have decided that the story will work better with ten. One day, I will write a story for eleven, but that day is not today!

I've not long watched this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, and I am now listening to my favourite tracks from all of the Doctor Who soundtracks…..

So be prepared for the ultimate adventure throughout all of time and space…


End file.
